Research: Subverted Infrastructures

At a local scale, a factory worker is defined by the monotony of their operations; however these seemingly banal actions have a direct and drastic impact on a global scale. Although an exceeding amount of trained workers in Newark exist, stagnancy threatens the rapidly growing demand for local and global exchange due to the port’s drastic contamination and inefficient freight infrastructure. These two major social and economic hindrances must be realigned in order to avoid a collapse of the local system.

Drawing upon Debord’s theory of detournement to subvert convention, a new significance can arise for the city. The proposed new industries would heavily draw upon old methods to incorporate global efficiency, however contextually they would act and appear very different. By redefining the purpose, scale and location of the distribution centers, improved social values would be established for the Newark’s citizens.

To remedy the crisis of isolated and inefficient distribution, a seamless infrastructural network would need to optimize the areas transportation system creating a link between local and industrial zones, while supporting spaces for new distribution centers to be conceived. This redefinition would enable the worker to realize their skill potential in a way that provides tangible improvements to the city in the realm of their trade. The proposed factory network would be made possible by remediation of the polluted media. The acting prototype would monitor vapor and detect the given parameters, finally to respond by remediation. This would ultimately clean the land in order to enable utilization and allow for growth.